Saturday, January 24, 2009 - P0ker H0
The UBOC’s have finally came to a close. It was an exciting week and a half of poker, especially because I was in the UBOC League. For those of you who don’t know, ubpokerleagues.com hosted a UBOC League where each team bought in for 1k and the 3 teams with the highest amount of points at the end of the UBOC would split the prize pool. We ended up getting 15 teams for the UBOC, and 20 for the MINI-UBOC. I partnered up with Shawn Rice and we were in it to the very last day. Wiscomurray’s team led the league in first everday but one, but on the last day lot’s of drama ensued.
The way the points are calculated are the higher the buyin the more points you will receive, and the deeper you go. So with the majority of UBOC’s being $100-$200’s and the last event a 1k, you can see how it would be easy to gain ground in the last tournament of the series. Well, thats exactly what the last place team did. The last day Wiscomurray’s team was in first with 1600 points, and 2nd with 1400. The 15th place team had 600 points. It would be a slight possibility for the bottom teams to catch up, but the last place team needed to outright win the UBOC to win the league by only 24 points. If they finished 2nd in the UBOC 1k main event they would get 850 points and fall significantly short.
Wouldn’t you know, I checked the lobby with 25 left and there they were. One of the guys on the last place team, DOUBLEDAVE22 to be exact, was still in the tournament. Not only that but NEDDYFLANDERS was still in, and his team was in need of the points. I think NEDDYFLANDERS could have finished 4th or better to win the league. Anyway, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Everytime DOUBLEDAVE22 was all-in, he got called, and when he was called his opponent had at most 2 outs. He played the short stack really well and found himself at the final table. When I say he played the short stack well, I really mean it. He was 2nd to last in chips from 20 players down to the final table. At the final table he found himself 4 handed, 2nd in chips. I couldnt believe it. Could the last place league team really pull this off? I mean, they had to WIN the UBOC 1k Main Event, to win the league. Anything less, and it wasnt even close to placing in top 3 teams.
DOUBLEDAVE22 shoved all in KQ and was called by Ac10c. The flop came 2 clubs 9 high. It wasn’t looking good for Dave, when bam, the turn came a non club Queen. Than bam the river a 7c, and Dave’s amazing run had come to an end. I have to admit, it was really fun watching other people play and have a reason to care what happens in the hands they are involved in. The ubpokerleagues.com website adds a new flavor to poker, and I really recommend it. Not only that, it helped me play my best poker I believe. Some people feel it’s easier to let themselves down than others, and for that reason I think people try harder. Give it a try and Gl everyone.
p0ker h0
Tags: mini UBOC, P0ker H0, Poker Strategy, poker tournaments, ShawnRice, table chat, UBOC, uboc leagues, ubpokerleagues
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Friday, January 23, 2009 - P0ker J0
Well hello from the Pro Corner.
Well what a week it has been. I think I have a few new grey hairs but all in all a good week!
Well UBOC ended and what a great turnout we had. The pros all had a blast playing in the tournaments – and probably enjoyed it so much more not having a bounty on their heads! I think the UBOC poker leagues really created some friendly competition between the pros and all were gunning for the win! Great job all around. When will the next UBOC get here?
Well it’s official – NBC announced Annie Duke as a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice 2 airing on March 1st. I wonder how the Donald will fair against the feisty and brilliant Annie Duke. Will Annie hear the words “you’re fired” for the first time in her life? Check out NBC on March 1st and follow the excitement. I’m pretty certain there will be fireworks!
Well how about UB’s own Michael Binger. In the land down under winning a final table! He went deep into the main event at the Aussie Millions and then went on to capture the title in event 12. In a marathon final table he came back from being the short stack to take it down. He takes home AU$123,840 and the coveted Aussie Millions Gold Ring. Congrats Michael!!
So last week I told you about The Ultimate Poker radio show on Rounders Radio with the great P0ker H0 and Annie Duke. Well this week I have even better news! How would you like to find yourself seated at a table in Vegas with Annie and P0ker H0 learning poker strategy from the best of the best? You guessed it – a seat to the WSOP Academy in Vegas on March 14th and 15th is up for grabs! All you have to do is listen to The Ultimate Poker Show on Rounders Radio every Sunday and find out what the secret password is in order to get you access to our Rounders Radio $5 tournament on Sunday nights at 10:00 PM EST – and bang – you are half way there! (did that sound like a Bon Jovi song to you??) Final table any of the $5 Rounders Radio tournaments on Sundays between now and March 8th and you’ll be entered into a freeroll on March 9th where the winner will walk away with a seat to the WSOP Academy AND 1K in cash for travel/accomodation. Don’t be sad if you don’t win this one – the 2nd through 9th place winners will walk away with a free one month membership to Pro Play Live where you will still get some great hands on training from Annie and P0ker H0!
So speaking of poker strategy – you don’t have to head all the way to Vegas to get it! Don’t forget about the Ultimate Auctions where you can bid on phone lessons with all of our pros. Check here for example where you can bid on lessons with any member of our online Team UB – Shawn Rice, Deb34 and P0ker H0. They have great tips and tricks to share with you so give them a try. If they try to tell you they are a big deal – just let me know and I’ll knock down their egos a bit!
Here is a testimonial from one of our previous bidders:
“I just wanted to tell you a little about my lesson that I won with Shawn Rice at ultimate auctions. It was great…My lesson with Mr. Rice brought my poker playing to a new level. Mr. Rice taught me things I would never have read in a poker book. The lesson finished with Mr. Rice giving me his personal email for when I have more questions. How cool is that!!! _Maui_
Have a great week folks!
P0ker J0
Tags: Annie Duke, Aussie Millions, Celebrity Apprentice, Debo34, Michael Binger, P0ker H0, P0ker J0 - The Pro Corner, Poker Strategy, poker tournaments, rounders radio, ShawnRice, UBOC, uboc poker leagues, ultimate auctions, ultimate poker show, WSOP Academy
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Friday, January 23, 2009 - smokin_aces
Greeting to all the poker players out there. The ‘Ask A Pro’ blog is now fully operational again and we’re looking forward to continuing our series. The ‘Ask a Pro’ blog had a great response from our readers so now that we’ve let our pros have a much deserved breather, we’re back and ready for your amazing questions.
In case you’re checking this out for the first time, ‘Ask A Pro’ is your chance to speak directly with a different Ultimate Bet pro each week. Each Friday afternoon we’ll announce which pro will answer one lucky question. All you have to do to enter is write your question in the comments section of the Friday post by no later than 8pm EST each Sunday. Each week one lucky reader will have their question selected by the pro. The ‘Ask a Pro’ answer will be posted each Thursday afternoon.
This week, we’re excited to announce Adam Levy as the ‘Ask A Pro’ host. Adam is no stranger to the game and is well poised to bring you his specific blend of tride, tested and true poker insights.
Ask Adam Levy a question now!!
GL
Aces
Tags: Ask A Pro, Poker Strategy, reader response
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - Shawn Rice
The UBOC3 just wrapped up and I love this time of year as it’s fun to play the higher buyin tourneys. I am somewhat disappointed in my results and not super happy with my play. It seems when I do bad it’s often self induced. I know when I put myself in a situation where I am forced to guess it’s often bad for me. In the final 1k buyin, $1,000,000 guaranteed main event there was over 1,100 players and it paid over 100 spots. I was down to less than 200 players in about 54th place and an early seat player double raises. If you know anything about me I always hate the double raise play because you are putting chips in the pot and gaining no information on the others behind you or the blind hands. I have 2 red 9’s and I hate to reraise here and possibly have to fold preflop; I hate to just fold here and I decide to just call and see a flop. Now the button makes a pot size squeeze play, the double raiser folds and I am certain by the size of his raise he does not have AA, KK or even QQ, so I have to worry about JJ or TT and flipping vs AK and with the double raiser folding maybe the deck could be a lil short on aces. I take the gamble and call and he shows JJ. I am knocked out and hate the way I played the hand. I know I am supposed to fold the 9’s there and just move on. I know most all I can beat if there is a bluff (88 or worse).
The Best Damn Poker Show has aired and it’s bringing back many good memories. This show is without the star power of the first show and in my opinion is a much better show overall. There is a little less fighting with Annie and Phil and better overall poker playing. I don’t think any of the players are as good as several of the players of last year that included Gary “Debo34″ DeBernardi, Mike “WiscoMurray” Murray and Tracy “Fatcats” Scala, but overall there were alot less mistakes and really good playing. Keep watching every week as the show gets very interesting all the way til the end, trust me.
Also check out Rounders Radio every Sunday night at 8pm Est on www.roundersradio.com. It’s a great radio show with Annie Duke and Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon with very entertaining guests. I listen to every broadcast and I even try and call in but the lines are so busy I can’t get through. I will be calling in the next few weeks, so if you have any questions for me or any of us please call in and ask away. We all love to talk poker and strategy and love to hear from people whom are serious about their game.
I plan on being in Vegas for the Super Bowl and I will be making a big bet that there will be a score in the last two minutes of the first half. I am currently shopping around for the best price. I have not made this bet in a few years and am very thankful I have not. The Cardinals sure look good to me getting 7 points the way they beat up Carolina and Philadelphia really impressed me. I am hoping to find some Arizona plus 7.5 somewhere before the game starts. I do think if Arizona covers the spread it will go over the 47 point total and if Pittsburgh covers it will go under the 47 points. This is pretty rare. Usually when you like the favorite you like the over and when you like the underdog you like the under. I think if Pittsburgh controls the game it will be low scoring because their defense will with it for them and if Arizona covers it’s because their offense is on fire like it has been in recent weeks.
Good Luck online fellow Ubers
Proud UB Team Member
Shawn Rice
Tags: Annie Duke, Best Damn Poker Show, Debo34, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Strategy, rounders radio, ShawnRice, Super Bowl, UBOC
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Saturday, January 3, 2009 - Contender
I focused primarily on live, No Limit ring games with Phil. I haven’t played much live. Perhaps my biggest weakness has been not picking up information visually at the live games. Phil gave me some suggestions to follow in live games, which I believe are going to help me. His advice was different, and easier for me to comprehend than much of the advise on utilizing visual stimuli in the popular poker books.
Phil’s approach to bankroll management and how much to buy in for at a table is different than many successful players. He advised me that protecting the bankroll is perhaps most important, and that it is not necessary to buy in for the maximum amount. I agree with this more conservative approach.
Phil has a reputation of sometimes losing focus and going on tilt. If this is true, it would only be for the very short term. However, for the long term, his record indicates, that he is generally extremely well focused, prepared, and consistent. Almost two decades of consistently being one of the very best would appear to make him the most successful tournament player of the past twenty years. A few players have had great success for a period of a few years, but few, if any players have been able to be as consistently successful as Phil. For example, as well as Daniel Negreanu, a poker player I admire, is currently playing, it will be a great challenge for him to maintain his focus for two decades and to continue to play at a very high level.
I knew I would enjoy meeting Phil, but the lesson was much more productive than I expected it could be for one telephone session. Of course, in one lesson, I couldn’t be taught how to play poker, but his advice and general approach to poker was very helpful to me, particularly for live play.
Tags: live play, No limit ring games, Phil Hellmuth, poker advice, poker books, poker lessons, Poker Strategy
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Sunday, December 28, 2008 - P0ker H0
Around the Holidays each year, Phil comes back to his hometown of Madison, WI. His family still lives here so he frequently visits. After all the Holiday stuff is done, He rounds up all the old guys and we get a game going. Most of the time we hold it at a good friend of Phil’s, Jon Green’s house, but due to the fact one of the players in this years game owns 2 of the nicest strip clubs in Wisconsin, we are going to move it there instead:) I mean if playing with Phil isnt enough, we get to have strippers massaging and bartending for us.
The game is 5-5 pot limit holdem and what a game it is. The players range from 27 to 70, and great to inexperienced. Im not kidding when I say you could write a movie about everysingle person in this game. Some would be more interesting than others, but Ebert and Ropert would give at least 2 thumbs up for anyone. From “Jimmy Pizza” to “Jimmy Duece”. From “Bald Headed Gary” to Concrete Larry”. From “Ladies and Gentlemen Mr. Jon Green” to “Ladies and Gentlemen the Great P0ker H0″, the list goes on and on. Wayne “Tilly” Tyler, Tim Belstner, Paul Clements are a few others to name. These people have been playing in this home game since Phil won his first bracelet. The youngest player that plays in our game is Mike “Wisco” Murray. He has really come along way since I have met him, and im proud to say he definitely deserves to play in this game.
Every year there is a hand that is unforgettable, and im sure this year will be no different. To prove to you im not lying, read this hand from last year.
In this game it is typical to straddle and in this hand it was straddled 3 times. Phil is first to act and bumps it up large. it fold around to the button. We will refer to the Button player as “SpaMan”. SpaMan reraises and Phil calls. Its only these 2 in the hand and the pot has around 900 in it before the flop comes out. 962 FLOP. BAMMMMMM!!! Spaman flips over his hand. he has J9. but wait? you are asking why he flipped over his hand on the flop? Well in this game it is common for people to try and outplay phil just to say they did it. Anyway, Phil bets the pot knowing this guy has top pair. Spaman thinks and calls. now there is 3kish in the pot and now the board is 962K. Phil checks, and spaman bets out 2600. Phil reraises 4kish, and this is where the fun begins. Spaman really thinks he has the best hand and is talking trash to phil the whole time telling him hes gonna beat him in a hand with his cards exposed. Well, Spaman calls the turn bet. WOW. Now there is 10k plus in the pot. the river comes an absolute blank. I believe it was 962K3. Phil leads out for 8kish and Spaman folds? Phil shows a complete bluff and the place goes nuts.
So many things are crazy about this hand. If Spaman thought he was good on the turn, why not think hes good on the river. Whats amazing on phils end is he knows this guy has 2nd pair and bad kicker, and because he check raised the turn, he could have a king. Phil basically found a way to represent the only card that Spaman would be afraid of. But than you can go back to if he thought he was good on turn, why not river. Its a crazy hand, and was a 17kish pot on a complete bluff if a 5-5 pl holdem game. Just crazy. Phil was just hoping Spaman couldnt possibly think he was bluffing if he could see his cards, and Spaman was thinking this is what phil was thinking. Called him down on every street, and folded the river? It made no sense, but was one of the craziest hands ive seen.
I will try to find a better hand this year, but it will be tough:)
Happy Holidays Everyone
P0ker H0
Tags: Hand of the Year, happy holidays, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Play Poker, Poker Strategy
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Saturday, December 27, 2008 - Phil Hellmuth
I have received a number of complaints recently through newspapers and Card Player magazine along the lines of “Phil, please don’t tell us the results of a ‘Poker After Dark’ episode before it airs.” Furthermore, it is now in my contract with NBC and “Poker After Dark” that I cannot reveal the results. OK, I can still talk about the lineup and a hand that I played during an episode. As many of you know, “PAD” appears on NBC six nights a week, 52 weeks per year at 2 a.m. A hit show, it gets better ratings than most other late-night programs.
“PAD” reminds me of the old days when I competed with mostly great players, many of whom have something interesting to say because they are clever, witty and sharp as a tack. And some are just plain characters! I love the fact that “PAD” shows every hand — or the vast majority of them — instead of “highlight-hand poker” that appears everywhere else. The hand that I’m going to talk about in this column occurred during a show with Clonie Gowen, Phil Laak, Gavin Smith, Mike Matusow, David Williams and me.
I was three handed with $48,000 in chips. The blinds were $600 to $1,200, and I opened for $3,600 on the button. Player A, in the small blind with around $38,000, announced, “I raise,” and threw in $10,000 or so. When the action came back to me, I began to think about my scouting report. I rarely, if ever, scout players, but the week before I happened to watch Player A on “PAD” reraise quite a bit with ace-rag hands (A-8, A-6, A-4, etc.), especially in the blinds. I also witnessed Player A move all-in with Jh-9h when the heat was still four handed.
For some reason, I remembered Player A’s tactics, and I’m referring to this prior knowledge as my “scouting report.” Knowing that Player A was capable of reraising me with a weak ace, I decided to move all-in. Player A called me immediately with A-K. I cannot reveal the rest of the hand; either I won the pot as a two-and-a-half-to-one underdog with my A-J versus Player A’s A-K or I lost the pot. But win or lose, we can talk about my tactics here.
First of all, maybe there’s a good reason that I do not scout players, and that I simply trust my instincts. If I am going to watch “PAD,” the natural scouting benefits should concern my opponent’s facial expressions, not his or her strategy moves. Back to the hand: My pre-flop raise of $3,600 was standard — three times the big blind. Player A’s $6,400 reraise was also pretty standard with A-K. You do not want to raise it up too much with A-K, like more than the size of the pot, because you risk losing someone with A-J or A-Q. To raise it up more than the size of the pot usually indicates strength, and by showing too much strength, you give opponents a chance to lay down a hand with which you want them to move all-in.
Conversely, you do want to raise it up a little and tempt someone with Q-J or a small pair to call you pre-flop. My all-in reraise of $28,000 was definitely weak. Why risk the chip lead with A-J off suit when the blinds were only $600 to $1,200? I mean, if I’m wrong (and lose), I’m the short stack. I should have waited for a better spot, like when I have A-K, or J-J, or something really strong. With the blinds this small, there was a lot of time to wait for a better spot — and plenty of poker left to be played.
But the thing that bothered me the most about my all-in move: I didn’t give myself a chance to read Player A. I should have studied Player A, and then decided what to do. If I decided that Player A was weak, and I was wrong, so be it. At least I would have felt that I did everything I could with the hand. If I somehow could read that Player A was strong (and this is what I do for a living), I could have folded my hand and been a hero. Instead, I trusted a darn scouting report. Of course, even if I got lucky and won the pot, it was still the wrong move.
At the highest levels of poker, it is all about reading your opponent. Is your opponent weak, or is he strong? If you can figure that out, then I’ll see you at a final table soon.
Tags: Hand of the Week, Hellmuth's Hold Em, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Pros, Poker Strategy, WSOP Champion
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Sunday, December 7, 2008 - Debo34
I believe one of the most overlooked, underrated factors in poker is preparation.
I’m sure the majority of players have fell victim to this more than once in their poker life. After all some of the places we play are exciting, fun and full of distractions. Take for example the Aruba Poker Classic, or the current tournament I am at in Nuevo Vallarta Mexico. The night before a main event, I always plan on getting a full nights sleep.
Doing this for several years now, I have developed a bit of a routine that helps me to be prepared to take on the multi day tournaments that lie ahead. First off I always try to arrive at the venue at least 2 days before the main event starts. I like to have some fun, check out the sites and hopefully have a full day to do nothing before the tournament starts. I have arrived to several tournaments the day of, or the night before and find I don’t seem to play well. I have been prey to the “night before parties” and ended up feeling bad the next day wishing I were still in bed. These are hard to resist, but I recommend attending with the idea of not staying out too late and keeping the drinking down as much as possible.
Rest is obviously the biggest factor in preparation, but what are some others? I’m sure it’s different for each player, but here are some of my routines.
• Make sure the ipod is fully charged.
• Get my seat assignment the night before.
• Research the players at my table if possible. Usually you can only do this before day 2.
• Have a good meal a few hours before I sit
• Go for a long walk an hour or so before I play.
I know a lot of people that like to play poker the night before a big event. I am not one of those people. Mostly because I feel I am a lot fresher the next day if I don’t. Many of the tournaments hold a super satellite the night before the main event. Many times I have played these for lack of something better to do. There is nothing worse than grinding in one of these until late in the night only to come up a few spots short. It makes coming out focused the next day tough for me. I normally try to avoid any kind of poker the night before.
Of course a lot of poker players are superstitious by nature and do a lot of the same things in preparation. I would say I fall somewhere in the middle of that group. If I find I’m doing well I usually try to keep the same routine. For instance I ate the exact same breakfast in the same restaurant 4 days in a row this year in Aruba. I don’t think this thrilled my wife too much, but she understands to a degree and humors me.
I would recommend doing anything that makes you relax and feel good about putting in a battle that could and hopefully will last several days.
Debo
Tags: Aruba Poker Classic, Debo34, Poker Strategy
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Sunday, December 7, 2008 - Annie Duke
I have been thinking lately about what the word “luck” really means…especially when applied to poker. Last night I was doing a corporate appearance in Phoenix and I got asked the most common question I get asked at those things, “How much luck is there in poker?” The intention of the question is always to get the answer, “Tons.” But I think the question is unclear because it is always unclear to me what the asker means by the word “luck.”
The thing is that I think of luck as an occurrence that goes against what is expected. I think that is a fair definition. So the question I want the answer to is if there is something that will happen 18% of the time and it happens is that really unexpected? If you have Aces and some else has Fives and they beat you, is that really lucky or are you witnessing something completely mathematically predictable? I am confused by this. I think you are just witnessing something that will happen 18% of the time and, thus, is mathematically predictable.
Here is my deeper take. If I get it all in with my 55 in a spot where I am getting 5 to 1 on my money or more then I am making money on the call. I am getting more money out of the pot than I will lose in the long run knowing I will win the pot about 18% of the time. If I hit it or if I don’t it is neither lucky nor unlucky because in either case I was making money on the play. So it is not luck but good play. Now, If I get my money in with 55 in a spot where I am getting 4 to 1 or worse then if I hit the hand I am losing money and if I don’t hit it I am losing money. Doesn’t really matter and it is not lucky or unlucky either way. It is just bad play.
I guess on that I would say that in poker the true meaning of luck would be getting your money in on a hand where you are 100% certain you are taking a bad price hoping that on that one try things will go your way. Then you are going against good math and good play just hoping things work out in a lucky way for you. I guess that is what tilting is: playing in a way that is going to lose you a lot of money in the long run hoping it doesn’t happen this one particular time.
Maybe that is what luck means: Tilting!
Tags: Annie Duke, Poker Strategy
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Saturday, December 6, 2008 - Phil Hellmuth
High Stakes No Limit Hold’em
OK, out of respect to those who do not want to know what’s coming on PAD (“Poker after Dark”); I will not mention what episode this hand came from, other than to say that it is a PAD high stakes cash game to be aired in 2009. Further, I will not reveal the names of the players in the episode. I will reveal that PAD cash games are now two weeks long, with a redraw (reposition of the players) after “Week one” ends. Although there is a redraw, no chips are taken off of the table, so that the second week has the potential to have some enormous pots. PAD is shown six days a week on NBC at 2:00 am, and it one of my favorite poker shows. I love PAD because of the banter, and because of the fact that they show a majority of the hands. However, if you’re into “Highlight poker,” where only the biggest and most interesting hands are shown, then you can always watch the “Directors cut” Saturday night at 1:00 am on NBC. The PAD cash game features blinds of $200 – $400, and an ante of $100 a man.
It was raised up to $1,200 to go by Player A, and called by Player B. I called $1,000 more from the small blind with 8h-7h. The flop was 6s-6d-4s, I checked, Player A checked, and Player B bet $2,200. I called, and Player A folded. I then announced, “I check” before the next card was turned up. Player B now announced, “I bet $6,400” before the last card was turned up. This was a rare sequence of events, as I have rarely seen someone check, and then have his opponent bet before the next card was even turned up! In any case, the next card was the 5d, and I now was sitting on a straight. I decided to just call the $6,400 bet, and then if the last card was innocuous, I would make a bet. The last card was the 2h (6s-6d-4s-5d-2h) and I bet out $15,000. Player B immediately said, “I’ll make it $38,400 to go.” Uh oh, I had really stepped into this time! I knew that my opponent was a great player, and that he would never raise it up on the end with a mere three in his hand (with a six high straight), or with only trip sixes. Player B had a full house, or nothing. The one exception was that he may have raised it up with a 7-3 in his hand. I studied for a minute, and by now the other players had left the table to go and make their predictions on camera about what was happening. I knew that at least a few of them were predicting that Player B had a full house. Finally, I decided that I had to make the call, and I threw $23,400 into the pot. Player B, who was by now lying on the couch of the set of PAD was told that I had called, and he shouted, “Full house.” Then he said, “Did he really call?” As Player B walked back to the table he could see that I had called, and he said, “Good call, you win.” Whew! One player then asked Player B, “Why did you lie?” Player B said, “Well, you could have been lying when you told me that Phil called, like for example when actually Phil folds his hand, and then you say he called so that you can get a free read from me.” Good point…
The second hand came down after Player B made it a habit of raising it up when I called (limped) before the flop. I limped under the gun with A-7 off suit, as did another player, and Player B made it $2,800 to go. Amazingly two other players called, and I decided that enough was enough. I decided that it was time to make my move, reraise it, and try to pick up the $10,000 already laying in the pot uncontested. So I called the $2,400 raise, and then I raised it up $15,000 more. Player B folded, but Player D called immediately. The flop was J-4-3, and I ruffled my chips, but ultimately I checked. I put Player D on a pair like pocket threes or pocket fives and I didn’t think that I could bluff him. The turn card was a six, and now I bet $7,000. Player D called, and I prayed for a five on the end to complete my straight. Alas, the last card was a nine, and I gave up on the pot. I felt like I couldn’t bluff Player D, so I checked. Player D then said, “I’ll check because I think that you’re ready to call me down.” Of course, I wasn’t ready to call one red cent! I said, “I think you win.” Player D said, “No, I think you win.” This was music to my ears, and I flipped up A-7 to claim the $60,000 pot. All of the other players at the table stared in amazement as I dragged in this $60,000 pot with A-7 high! How could either Player D or I put in so much money without having a better hand than A-7? What did Player D have anyway? He claimed to have queen high! How could he call a $15,000 reraise with queen high? You’ll just have to watch the 2009 season of PAD!
When someone makes a big bet on the end:
1. They usually have a strong hand!
2. Trust your instincts
3. Fold most of the time
4. All of the above.
Tags: Hand of the Week, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Strategy
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